Machine for producing fabric cleaners



Oct. 20, 1936. 1. H. MARSHAL- L I MACHINE FOR PRODUCING FABRIC CLEANERS Fil ed Aug. 11, 1954 INVENTOR. lm. h. MARSHALL A TTORNE Y Patented Oct. 20, 1936.3

UNITED STATES MACHINE FOR PRODUCING FABRI CLEANERS Irl H. Marshall, Racine, Wis.

Application August 11, 1934, Serial No. 739,416

9 Claims. (01. 259-108) When cleaning household furnishings such as upholstered furniture, or rugs, tapestry and other fabrics, it is necessary to send such articles to establishments especially equipped for cleaning, and

5 be deprived of the use thereof, at times indefinitely, until returned. It is my object, therefore, to provide portable means which may be carried about to residences, hotels, stores and the like, in which a foamy cleansing agent may be readily l prepared, whereby articles can be conveniently and quickly cleaned on the premises without the necessity of removal therefrom, and which portable means and cleanser may also be employed in renovating the interior of automobiles, floor cov l6 erings, drapery, and the like, as will further appear.

In the accompanying drawing, forming part hereof, Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved machine as seen when looking toward its 20 bottom; Fig. 2, a side elevation; Fig. 3, a fragmentaryplan iew, with the cover removed, showing mechanisms'in the interior of the tub which I employ; Fig. 4, a detail section taken on the. dotted line 4-4 in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a perspective of the agitator; Fig. 6, a detail section taken on the dotted line 6-t in Fig. 4; Fig. '7, a fragmentary elevation partly in section of the motor and the manner of adjustably'mounting the same, taken on the dotted line ll in Fig. 3; Fig. 8, a detail sec 30 tion taken on the dotted line 88 in Fig. 7; and Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the dotted line 9-9 in Fig. 6.

In said drawing, the numeral indicates a container or tub of any suitable formation, that 11- 35 lustrated being in the form of a suitcase having a handle 6 for convenience in carrying. The bottom l of the tub is preferably depressed slightly near one end, as at 8, to form a basin so that liquid will flow to a predetermined portion of the 4.0 tub; where a'foam guide 9 and splash guard 9 are installed above the same;

Through the splash guard I pass a supporting standard I!) and telescope the same in a clip H, and, to prevent the standard from turning, keep- 45 ers composed of Wires l2 are associated therewith, which engage the inner wall of the tub.

Upon said standard I0 I mount an electric motor l5 by means of an arm [6 adjustably secured on the standard by a thumb-screw II, or otherwise. 50 The shaft 1 8 of the motor is provided with a worm l9, which engages a gear 20 secured to the stem 2| of an agitator comprising open-work blades 22, which may be formed of bent wire substantially as indicated in Fig. 5. In this manner the motor 5 and agitator constitute a combination structure,

and when mounted on the standard lll they may be raised and lowered together as a unit, the agitator, when in operating position, being partly enclosed by a chamber composed'of the depending wall 23 and the corner of the tub, as clearly in- 5 dicated in Figs. 4 and 6, said wall having a foamguard 24 extending therefrom. The lower edge of the-wall 23, Fig. 4, is spaced from the tub bottom, at 23', and a baffle-plate 25, Figs. 6 and 9, preferably of angular formation, extends from the wall out into the tub in front of the agitator blades 22, or said plate may be detached from the wall and otherwise secured in the tub. A heating plate 21 is secured, preferably on the exterior of the tub bottom, and is connected by a wire 28 to a plug receptacle 29 in' the interior of the tub, to which receptacle a wire 30 for energizing the motor I5 is plugged, the electrical current for actuating the motor being led to the plug receptacle 29 by a feed wire 3| adapted to be detachably connected to a wall socket (not shown) in a well known manner.

In employing my improved machine I provide the same with folding legs 35 so that it may be positioned at a convenient height, and which preferably comprise a rod 36, Fig. 1, having a crank 31 midway its length, theopposite ends of the rods being bent at right angles to form the legs 35. As there is a pair of legs at each side .of the bottom I control the same by a spring strap 38 secured to the bottom, the ends of which strap normally press the cranks 31 against the bottom of the tub, so that when the legs are turned into the position shown in Fig. 2, or folded as indicated in Fig. 1, they will be retained in either of said positions by the spring action of strap 38.

In use, my machine is set up as shown in Fig. 2, and the feed wire 3| connected to a wall socket. A quantity of liquid such as water is placed in 40 the tub and a suitable fabric cleansing concentrate is placed in the tub content. The combination motor and agitator is then adjusted on the standard It) to such height that the arms 22' of blades 22 will be immersed but slightly below the surface of the liquid. The heating wire 28 is then plugged into the receptacle 29 and the electric current established, so that the plate 21 will become heated to control the temperature of the liquid as desired by either withdrawing or inserting wire 28 in receptacle 29, whereupon the motor I 5 is connected to the feed wire 3| by plugging its connecting wire 30 into the plug receptacle 29, which completes the motor circuit, the motor being controlled by a switch l5 and rotates the agitator 22 at predetermined speed to so disturb the liquid as to produce a rich foam in and beyond the chamber in which the agitator is positioned. The liquid flows behind the foam-guard 24 through the space 23 under wall 23 and the foam produced by the agitator flows out through the open side of the agitating chamber. In order to increase the foam volumes which accumulate in the chamber the intercepting baffle-plate 25 is employed, so that as the solution is being violently whipped into foam by the agitator its flowing volume will be sochecked by the baffle as to be increased by accumulation and forced out into the tub in condition for use in cleaning fabrics, during which process of accumulation and agitation the foam is confined within the chamber and splash guard 9 and works out through the chamber and towards the opposite end of the tub, the guard preventing the foam from flowing out about the motor and associated parts.

In practice several methods of using the foam for cleaning may be employed, that preferred being to withdraw portions of the foam with a suitable tray and apply it to upholstered furniture or other fabrics with a brush, after which the foam, which has extracted dirt and grease from the fabric, may be wiped away, and the material treated is thus left in clean condition, it being understood that the cleansing solution is of an evaporative character so that the cleaned article will quickly dry. Upon completion of the work the wires 28 and 30 are detached from plug receptacle 29, the combination motor and agitator with the arm II] are removed from operable condition and placed in the tub, the parts enclosed by the cover 5', and the legs folded, when the machine is in the condition shown in Fig. 1 ready to be carried from the premises.

I claim as my invention:

1. A portable machine of the class described, comprising a single liquid container of rectangular formation having a basin therein, an impervious wall in the container adjacent the basin spaced from the bottom of and with the container forming a chamber therein, an agitator in the chamber adapted to rotate therein to produce a foam from solution, and electrical mechanism supported by the container connected to the agitator for actuating the latter.

2. In a machine of the class described, a container of rectangular formation, a wall in the container forming therewith a chamber open at one side to communicate with the container, means in the chamber for producing foam from liquid, and means associated with the container adjacent the open side of the chamber for baflling and increasing the volume of foam flowing from the chamber into the container.

3. In a portable fabric cleaning machine of the class described, a container including an opensided foam producing chamber, an agitator in said chamber for producing cleansing foam comprising a stem and open blades adjacent one end thereof, a motor having a driving shaft, means at the opposite end of the stem engaging and driven by said shaft, and means for detachably mounting the agitator and motor in said container.

4. In a portable machine of the class described, a container including an open-sided foam producing chamber, a support in the container, a combined motor and agitator mounted on the support for producing foam in the container, and means connecting the motor to the support whereby said motor and agitator may be raised and lowered in relation to the container.

5. In a portable machine of the class described, a container having an open-sided chamber therein, a splash-guard above the chamber, an agitator extending into the chamber for producing foam, and means associated with and actuating the agitator.

6. In a portable machine of the class described, a container, a wall in the container spaced from its bottom and forming therewith an open-sided chamber said wall having a foam guard associated therewith, liquid agitating means in the chamber, and means for actuating the agitating means to produce cleansing foam from liquid.

'7. In a portable machine of the class described, a container, a wall in the container and therewith forming an open-sided chamber, a baflie associated with the container and adjacent the open side of said chamber, agitating means in the chamber, and means for actuating the latter means.

8. In a portable machine of the class described for producing fabric cleansing foam, a receptacle for containing cleaning solution, a foam retaining chamber in the receptacle, a splash-guard in a portion of the receptacle, an agitator having open blades extending through the splash-guard, a motor associated with and actuating the agitator, a plug receptacle associated with the machine, a wire connecting the motor to the plug receptacle, and a feed wire attachable to a source of electrical current and communicating with said plug re- L ceptacle for conveying current through the motor connecting wire.

9. In a portable machine of the class described for producing fabric cleansing foam, a receptacle for containing cleaning solution, a foam retaining chamber in the receptacle, an agitator having open blades extending into the receptacle, a motor associated with and actuating the agitator, a plug receptacle associated with the machine, a wire connecting the motor to the plug receptacle, and a feed wire attachable to a source of electrical current and communicating with said plug receptacle for conveying current through said motor connecting wire.

IRL H. MARSHALL. 

